عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

WHO Chief Pushes China for ‘Full Access’ to Determine COVID’s Origins

A woman undergoes a COVID-19 test at a vaccination center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12 September 2023. (EPA)
A woman undergoes a COVID-19 test at a vaccination center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12 September 2023. (EPA)
TT
TT

WHO Chief Pushes China for ‘Full Access’ to Determine COVID’s Origins

A woman undergoes a COVID-19 test at a vaccination center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12 September 2023. (EPA)
A woman undergoes a COVID-19 test at a vaccination center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 12 September 2023. (EPA)

The chief of the World Health Organization urged Beijing to offer more information on the origins of COVID-19 and is ready to send a second team to probe the matter, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

"We're pressing China to give full access, and we are asking countries to raise it during their bilateral meetings — to urge Beijing to cooperate," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the newspaper.

The WHO chief's comments come as health authorities and pharmaceutical companies across the world have been racing to update vaccines to combat newer emerging coronavirus variants.

Ghebreyesus has for long been pressing China to share its information about the origins of COVID-19, saying that until that happened all hypotheses remained on the table.

The virus was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, with many suspecting it spread in a live animal market before fanning out around the world and killing nearly 7 million people.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Australian Hiker Found Alive after Surviving for Two Weeks on Berries and Muesli Bars

A general view of Cooma Hospital where hiker Hadi Nazari was transferred to for a health check in Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
A general view of Cooma Hospital where hiker Hadi Nazari was transferred to for a health check in Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

Australian Hiker Found Alive after Surviving for Two Weeks on Berries and Muesli Bars

A general view of Cooma Hospital where hiker Hadi Nazari was transferred to for a health check in Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
A general view of Cooma Hospital where hiker Hadi Nazari was transferred to for a health check in Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

An Australian student missing for two weeks near the country's tallest mountain was found on Wednesday, after surviving by foraging for berries, drinking water from a creek and finding two muesli bars left behind by other hikers, police said.

Hadi Nazari, a 23-year-old university student from Melbourne, went missing from his group of friends on December 26 in the Kosciuszko National Park.

Nazari was found on Wednesday afternoon by a group of hikers who alerted the authorities, police in the state of New South Wales said.

“This is the fourteenth day we've been looking for him and for him to come out and be in such good spirits and in such great condition, it’s incredible," NSW Police Inspector Josh Broadfoot said.

The student was in "really good spirits" with no significant injuries, he added.

More than 300 people had searched for Nazari across rugged bushland, police said. The national park is home to the 2,228 meter (7,310 foot) Mount Kosciuszko.